


we're not alone

by Chucychito



Series: extra scenes revolving around Jay, Lion, and Dove [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Angst, Confrontations, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I didnt mean to write this it just happened, Missing Scene, Not Beta Read, Short One Shot, The Broken Code: Book 4: Darkness Within
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:13:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27569596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chucychito/pseuds/Chucychito
Summary: Dovewing and Jayfeather confront Lionblaze about dealing with the idea that they aren't the saviors anymore. Set in the midst of Darkness Within.
Relationships: Dovewing & Jayfeather & Lionblaze (Warriors)
Series: extra scenes revolving around Jay, Lion, and Dove [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035267
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	we're not alone

**Author's Note:**

> I literally opened the document to write the next chapter of the power of three au and this happened instead. I do not control the words with which I write.

“Lionblaze.”

Lionblaze, who’d been rising stiffly from the roots of the great oak to dutifully follow Squirrelflight at the head of their patrol, glanced irritably at the gray she-cat at his side. Dovewing’s green eyes were round and dark with worry—he hated that he could still recognize that expression in her.

“ _ What _ ?” he didn’t even make an attempt to soften his voice. “Tigerstar must be waiting for you. If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”

Dovewing’s fur ruffled and her gaze flashed with annoyance. “I always thought Jayfeather was the rude one, not you.”

“What about me?” When had Jayfeather sidled up to them? Lionblaze lashed his tail impatiently. He should already be at Squirrelflight’s side, reinforcing his authority among the rest of the Clan who thought he was unworthy of the position.

“Hi, Dovewing,” Jayfeather continued conversationally, as if the entire state of literally everything wasn’t on the line right now. Which only solidified the resentment Lionblaze had been feeling towards his brother recently.

Lionblaze thought back on the events of the impromptu gathering. Rootspring’s patrol had left a few days ago to find the Sisters, so there was nothing new to speak of. The meeting had just consisted of everyone arguing about what to do about Bramblestar’s body—more so, Lionblaze trying to rally everyone in support of just killing Ashfur now to be done with it. Really, of all cats Lionblaze had  _ thought  _ Jayfeather would understand the importance of killing Ashfur. He was a medicine cat, his priorities should be centered around nothing but bringing StarClan back right now, no matter the cost. Not just that, but both his and Lionblaze’s world had been shattered twice by Ashfur. Once when the secret had been revealed, and the second time with Hollyleaf…

And yet Jayfeather had said  _ nothing _ when Lionblaze had argued with Squirrelflight at the gathering just now.

And Dovewing…

“Hi, Jayfeather.”

Lionblaze shifted impatiently. “What is this, a reunion? The gathering is over. If you wanted to talk to us, you should’ve done so before the meeting.”  _ Or maybe any other time, before all of this was even a problem. _ It had been  _ moons _ since Dovewing had approached either of them. Why was she suddenly interested in talking?

Dovewing rolled her eyes. “Are you in such a rush to go home?” she flicked her tail in Squirrelflight’s direction, who was exchanging heated words with Tigerstar while Alderheart and Puddleshine paced anxiously nearby. Even Leafstar and her warriors were still lingering; the SkyClan leader hanging back politely but obviously eavesdropping on the argument. “It looks like we might have a bit yet.”

Lionblaze scowled. “I’m the deputy now. If there’s a problem over there, I better go see—”

“Squirrelflight can handle herself,” Jayfeather interrupted firmly. “Besides, I’m not sure she would want your help right now, anyway.”

Lionblaze narrowed his eyes. “What? Because I’m willing to admit Bramblestar isn’t coming back? She needs to understand that her actions are—”

“Would you stop being so antagonistic,” Dovewing scolded. “Just listen to us for a moment.”

Lionblaze dug his claws into the earth, willing StarClan (or what was left of it) give him the patience to finish this conversation. “And why should I listen to you?  _ You’re  _ not taking this seriously,” he gestured accusatorily at his brother. Even though Jayfeather was blind, Lionblaze trusted he could sense the harsh words were for him. He turned to Dovewing. “And  _ you’re  _ a traitor.”

Dovewing reeled back as if his words had physically clawed her. Lionblaze didn’t even have it in him to feel bad. “ _ Lionblaze _ ,” she hissed, though her voice trembled and died before she could say anything more.

_ Good, _ Lionblaze thought savagely.

Jayfeather blinked, aggravatingly calm in the face of Lionblaze’s fury. “Have you thought that it’s possible  _ you’re  _ the one being unreasonable?”

“ _ I’m— _ ”

Jayfeather continued, ignoring Lionblaze’s cry of outrage. “Ever since we found out who’s been possessing Bramblestar, you’ve been impossible to be around.” His whiskers twitched disapprovingly. “If you were anyone else, I might’ve assumed it was because you were overworking yourself as  _ acting deputy _ , but it’s you, so.” He shrugged. “You could never really overwork yourself, could you?”

Lionblaze let out a hiss. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Dovewing blinked hard, her eyes refocusing on her former mentor. “I know this is a serious situation,” her voice was soft. “But we need to come together more than we need to be driven apart. Fighting with everyone isn’t the right thing to do. Not right now.”

“What do  _ you _ know?” Lionblaze scoffed. “Ashfur was dead before you were even born. You’ve never even met him. I’m the one being sensible—”

Jayfeather snorted. “Lionblaze, I’m saying this in the kindest way possible. Between me and you, you are not the sensible one.”

“I—”

“I know Ashfur upsets you personally,” Jayfeather interrupted once again. “You don’t think I’m upset about this too?”

“You’re upset about everything all the time,” Lionblaze pointed out.

Jayfeather rolled his eyes but did not deny the statement.

Dovewing sighed. “It’s just… You’re the deputy for now, you should be making sure there is as little conflict as possible. Maybe try to have a little more compassion for Squirrelflight and the rest of us who think killing Bramblestar isn’t the right thing to do. No more bullying either,” she added reproachfully. “You don’t want to start down the path of hurting others in your own anger and arrogance.”

_ Start down that path? _ Lionblaze flicked his tail and turned away. He’d been hurting cats in his anger since he was an apprentice. That was his prophecy-given power, for StarClan’s sake!

“I will not hesitate to restrict you to camp,” Jayfeather warned. Lionblaze tensed, but Jayfeather continued. “Which I  _ can  _ do, by the way.” He shifted, resting his tail on Dovewing’s shoulder. “Dovewing’s right. Things are rough right now, but it won’t do anything to intentionally divide the Clan the way you’ve been doing lately.”

“We don’t have our powers anymore,” Dovewing said quietly. “We are no more in control of the situation than anyone else.” The words churned in Lionblaze’s stomach. They were once prophesized to save the Clans, but their powers had faded after what had seemed like the final huge threat had passed. It was hard to acknowledge that he was just as powerless as everyone else in the face of this new/old monster.

“We should work harder to make up for it, then,” Lionblaze argued gruffly. He was sure that was one of the main reasons Squirrelflight had chosen him for deputy—he’d helped save them before, and surely she expected him to play a part in doing so again. Surely everyone was looking up to them for guidance. Couldn’t Dovewing and Jayfeather see that?

Dovewing stepped closer and forced him to hold her gaze. “This isn’t our fight alone, and no one expects it to be. And that’s what we wanted, right? We would’ve been grateful for this all those moons ago. We’ll get through this by working together. All of us.”

Lionblaze finally let the tension in his shoulders drop. He slumped miserably into himself, staring down at the grass. “What if we don’t? We can’t let Ashfur win this time, not after everything we’ve sacrificed to bring him down in the first place.”

“It’s not in our paws,” Jayfeather said simply. “We’ll wait for the Sisters, and then we’ll all decide what to do. In the meantime, we just get through each day at a time.”

Lionblaze sighed. “You’re right,” he admitted grudgingly. He glanced awkwardly at Dovewing. “I’m sorry I called you a traitor.”

Dovewing dipped her head. “I won’t say it’s okay, because it isn’t. But from now on we do better, right?”

Lionblaze nodded decisively. “Right.”

“And apologize to Squirrelflight,” Jayfeather added.

“…Right,” Lionblaze reluctantly agreed. He did feel bad for hurting his foster mother in the way that he had. An apology would be the least he could offer to smooth things over.

_ This isn’t our fight—this isn’t  _ my  _ fight. We’re not alone in this. _ If he was honest with himself, the thought was almost liberating.  _ We’re not alone. _

**Author's Note:**

> I'll admit, this story was a bit messy for me, but it was something I had to write. Lionblaze's character is so angry and violent in this book, I wanted to delve into that a bit more. There was a scene where Dovewing speaks out against Lionblaze, and I wanted to see how that would actually play out if it wasn't directly followed by everyone leaving to attack Ashfur.  
> Also, anyone else notice that in the book Jayfeather seems to side with and defend Squirrelflight from Lionblaze? I love him. Grade A favorite character there.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought! I would die for commenters.


End file.
